Rail-brace.



l. G. MUELLER.

RAIL BRACE,

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22.1916.

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JOHN G. MUELLER, 0F DAYTON, oHIo.

` nAIL-Bnaon.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patenteanay 15, 1er-7.

Application led J' uly 22, 1916. lSerial No. 110,640.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it lmownthatI, JoHN G. Minn-LER,v a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Dayton, in the county` of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and usefullImprovements in Rail-Braces, of whichthe following is alspecilication, reference behad thereinto theaccompanying drawing. l j

This invention relates to rail braces.

An object ef the invention is to provide a rail brace which can beeasily manipulated to adjust the rails to the desired gage and to retainthem in such adjusted position. It is also an object of the invention toprovide a brace connectingthe rails at the oints and fish platestoprevent movement of the 'ends of the rails. forming each joint.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an 'elevationof one formofbrace taken transversely of'the rails; Fig. 2 is a detail sectionalview; Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the application of one end ofthe brace to a rail joint; Fig. 4 is a view showing a slightlymodifiedform of brace; and Fig'. 5 is a view `showing a second modifiedform of brace.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings I have shown a pair ofrails 1 and 2 comprising joints 3. The joints are connected by fishplates 4 which are fastened to the rails in a well known manner.Adjacent each of the joints are clamping members 5 and 6 provided withclamping recesses 7 and 8 adapted to engage the base ange 9 of a railand the flanges 10 ofthe fish plates. The lower portions of the clampingmembers comprise apertured lugs 11 and 12 and the ends of the sectionalbrace 13 are adapted to be threaded through the `apertures thereof.`These ends are sectional rods 14 and 115, which are provided with heads16 and 17 at their outer ends against which the members 6y abut. Theinner ends of the sections 14 and 15 are screw-threaded, as shown at 18`and 19. Y Nuts 20 and 21 are mounted on these` threaded portions andserve to clamp the members to the rails. Coperating with thesescrew-threaded portions is an intermediate tube 22 having end portions23 and 24 embracing the adjacent Sends of the sections 14 and 15. Theends of this tube 22 are provided with screw- `threaded nut portions 25and 26 working upon the screw-.threaded portions 18 and `19. It will beseen that when the members 5 and -6 are securely clamped to the railsthat the distance between the rails can be adjusted by Irotating themember 22 which will draw the rails closer together and farther apartaccording to the direction of rotation. The threaded portions 18 and 19of course must comprise right hand and left hand screw-threads.

Although I have shown my brace as applied toand connecting the railsadjacent the joints thereof it will be understood that it is within thescope of the invention to apply the same at any other points forconnecting the rails.

The device that I have herein shown and described provides a very strongrigid construction for holding the rails in definite spaced apartrelation, whereby the separating thereof is avoided but at the same timeenables an adjustment to vary the 'gage thereof. Lock nuts 27 areprovided to prevent the displacement of the parts.

Referring to Fig. 4 showing a modifiedy provided with downwardlyextending apertured lugs 33 through which is threaded a sectional bracerod 34 provided with a head 35 at its outer end in engagement with theclamping jaw 30. The adjacent inner ends of the rod sections 34 areprovided with right and left hand screw threads 36 and 37 upon which aturn buckle 38 is adapted to work. The inner clamping members 29 can beadjusted and held against the rail flanges by meansl of the nuts 39 onthe screwthreaded portions 36 and 37. The form shown here is inprinciple the same as the form shown in Fig. 1, the means for drawingthe sectionstoward and away from each brace the fish platessubstantially as shown.

Referring to Fig. 5 illustrating probably the preferred form, the rails40 thereof are each provided with clamping members 41 and 42 havingrecesses 43 embracing the base flange of the rail and the iish plates.In this form an integral single bracing rod 44 is used. This rod isprovided With a head 45 at one end and adjusting nut 46 at the other.Upon this rod the clamping members 41 and 42 at each side are strung.The inner ones, and are connected by a screwthreaded sleeve 50; Thissleeve and the nut 46 can be adjusted to vary the gage or distancebetween the rails and also to securely clamp the parts together. Vhenthe sleeve 50 is rotated it Will'be seen that `the clamping members 41Will be moved into engagement with their rail ianges and the latter withthe copera-ting clamping members. When it is desired to vary the gagethe sleeve 50 can be rotated in one direction or the other and the nut46 then tightened to hold the rails in adjusted position.

hile l have shown and described one embodiment of my invention andseveral ymodilications thereof, it will be understood that the same hasbeen chosen for the pur-- poses of illustration only, and that I do notdesire to be limited to the details of construction shown and described,for obvious modifications Will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, With a pair of rails, of a lbrace rod, pairs ofclamps loosely mounted on said brace rod at the ends thereof, each pairof clamps embracing a rail, means on the ends of the brace rod forretaining the clamps thereon, and a single rotatable device interposedbetween the rails for varying the gage thereof.

2. The combination, with a pair of rails, of clamping devices engagingthe rails, a rod connecting the clamping devices and an adjustable tubeencircling the rod and engaging the adjacent clamping devices.

3. The combination, With a pair of rails, o1- clamping devices embracingeach rail, a rod connecting said clamping devices, tubular sectionsembracing said rod and connected at their outer ends to the innerclamping devices'and a sleeve mounted on the inner ends of said tubularsections for adjusting the gage.

4. The combination, With a pair vof rails, of clamping devices for saidrails, a rod provided Wit-h an adjusting device strungv through saidclamping devices connecting them together, tubular sections embracingthe rod and connected at their outer ends to the inner clamping devices,and a sleeve having a screw-threaded engagement With the inner ends ofsaid tubular sections.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

JOHN MUELLER.

Copiesof this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

